Page 81 of Glass Hearts
“She is a little thief and stole from us. We saw that she could communicate with animals, which we need for this mission.” All four princes laugh at Jax’s reply.
“Really, Duchess? Still stealing? And from mercenaries!?” My traitorous heart surges seeing the dimpled smile back on Grayer’s face.
“Hindsight, it wasn’t the best idea, and my chosen team was not so subtle.” I roll my eyes, crossing my arms.
“We are the best accomplices! Can’t be replaced, Arabelly!” Bert squeaks out, shaking his little paw in the air.
I scratch the top of his little head. “I could never replace you boys.”
“What exactly is this mission you are on?” Koi asks.
“They need me to help them contain a cobra so they can collect some of its scales and venom.”
“Oh. We have that at the castle. How about you lot follow us back, and we will give you those, and then you will leave Arabella alone, yes? We all would rather not cross into the enchanted forest.” Sylas scratches his now fully bearded chin. Why,just why, did he have to grow a beard? The man was already ruggedly handsome; now he fully has me swooning.
“What’s so scary about the enchanted forest? Maybe I want to cross that so I can see it for myself?” I ask, snapping out of my lust.
“That’s a deal, but we will also need accommodations once we are there,” Smith interjects, ignoring me.
“Actually, we could really use your help. We aren’t sure what the state of the castle will be like once we get there.” Archer interjects, retying his white hair back that’s escaped in the fight with a leather band.
“We don’t work for free, Prince.” Jax crosses his muscled arms.
Sylas waves him off. “Of course not; we will pay your fee. But you must ensure Arabella’s safety at all times.”
I roll my eyes; it’s as if I am not even here. Typical men.
“Do I get any say in this? What if I don’t want to go back?” Grayer pulls me into his waist.
“We either go back together, or we will follow you. We aren’t leaving you again. Not. An. Option, Duchess.”
“What Gray is trying to say, Vixen, is that we understand you may need time. Even though we didn’t intend to hurt you, at the end of the day, we still did. We all want you to be in our lives. Whether it’s romantic is for you to decide,” Sylas says.
“I didn’t agree to that,” Grayer mutters.
“But, Vixen, we do need to head back to the castle. I do not know what your stepmother will do to Bri and the staff once she finds her daughters in the dungeon.”
“They are in the dungeon!?” I laugh. I can only imagine the vitriol they are spewing at poor Bri.
“Yes, and it’s for you to decide what you want to do to them,” Koi adds. “I am also a bit worried—and this is not to manipulate you—for Elora. She said she was going to leave the castle, and I hope she did… But we have no idea if she followed our request.”
I nod, realizing my adventure may need to be on pause for now.
“Fine,” I relent. “Once we deal with Bernice and Victor, secure the castle, and find Lo. I will be leaving.” Grayer growls, but the other princes have smirks on their handsome faces.
“Whatever you say, Princess,” Archer says.
“Now that everything is sorted, I think we should go back to Quotina. We have some business to attend to before heading towards Eldor. We should also spend some of that time making a plan,” Elliah says, packing up his abandoned gear.
“That sounds reasonable,” Sylas says as he grabs my satchel for me.
“Well, shall we, men?” Jax says, walking back north.
“AND woman!” I add indignantly. They all laugh again. Great, now I’m surrounded by even more arrogant men.
* * *
Midway through our walk back, Grayer decides to give me a piggyback, saying that I am too slow. I thought I was catching up just fine, but I think it’s just his excuse to get me closer. If I were a better woman, I would have refused. But all this walking is quite enough for me. When we get to their horses, they seem to argue about who gets to ride with me.
